Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary

RIDGEFIELD — Quarry Ridge Animal Hospital, 30 Old Quarry Road in Ridgefield, is inviting pets and families to start their holiday season with a smile and a picture with Santa. The event will take place on Saturday, December 6, from noon to 3 pm, with a snow date of Sunday, December 7, also from noon to 3 pm.

A rough path at the end of Old Farm Road leads to the top of a hill overlooking a property filled with beds of past-season goldenrod, milkweed pods exuding feathery seeds, and waist-high grasses. Jenny Hubbard, Monica Roberto, and Harmony Verna pause there. They are looking beyond the overgrown brush to a vision they have held close to their hearts for the last year and a half.

In this drawing rendered by PH Architects, the entrance to the Catherine Violet Hubbard Animal Sanctuary would consist of a central entrance topped by red terra cotta tiles — the color of Catherine’s hair — and curved “arms” ending in a Welcome Center at one end of the plaza and an animal care center at the other. The Hubbard family continues to seek the donation of property on which to build the sanctuary honoring Catherine, who died 12/14.